January 10, 2005
SMS enlisted for Tsunami warning system?
At least five countries have begun developing an alert system using cell phone text messages, a response to the catastrophic Asian tsunami that exposed flaws in present-day early warning schemes, reports News.com.
Discussions among officials in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, which were hard hit by the killer tsunami, along with France, have begun in just the last few days, according to a source familiar with the plans.
"We hope to have something tangible in place by mid-April," said Greg Wilfahrt, executive vice president and co-founder of SMS.AC, a wireless e-mail provider that has relationships with carriers in 170 nations. The company has offered its infrastructure and carrier connections to become the basis of the SMS warning system. SMS.ac is also coordinating the talks between the various nations."
But the SMS effort raises some questions. As most wireless dialers are well-aware, cell phone coverage is spotty at best, and only gets worse when infrastructure is damaged. Roaming agreements, however, may help improve the system's range.
Also, while nearly a third of the planet owns a cell phone, there are still billions of people who do not, which would leave them out of the loop with this system."
Related warning systems from around the world:
-- Cell Phones Alert Users of Natural Disasters
-- Germany offers lead on tsunami warning system
-- Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts
-- Israeli Company Offers Free Tsunami Alert System
-- How cell phones may have helped Southern Asia
-- Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org.
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